The Metroid Prime series has come a long way since debuting nearly five years ago on the GameCube. While the first game was a superb entry into the shooter genre, the second game had annoying instances of continuous backtracking. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption stands alone as the best entry in the series and a fitting end to a landmark franchise.
Corruption begins with Samus aboard her ship when enemies begin attacking. After the initial attack (which serves as a tutorial of sorts), Samus comes into contact with her evil twin Dark Samus who infects her with the Phazon virus, that makes both of you vulnerable (as it slowly takes over your body) but extra powerful. The Phazon virus turns you into a corrupted bounty hunter, forcing you to fight for both your life and the lives of others. The Phazon virus affects multiple parts of Samus’ behaviors and appearance, and throughout the story you will see it gradually take control of her. The more infected Samus becomes, it will ultimately cause her suit to change colors and her actions to become hyped up or dumbed down in some incidents.
What makes Corruption so much more accessible than the previous titles is the fluid and responsive controls that give the game a perfect blend of combat and navigation. While many games have had various problems allocating proper mechanics for fighting, Corruption maintains a steady balance of both the Wii remote and nunchuck, without relying too heavily on one more so than the other. The remote is used primarily to aim and fire weapons while the nunchuck is designed to move around and grapple. The controls take some getting used to at first, and the calibration options tend to make things feel very loose at first. Although you can adjust the settings to your liking, after a few hours or so of fighting, the controls will become second nature.
Most of the controls help make the game have a more hands-on approach. Scanning objects now forces you to press the – button on the controller and then hold down Z to initiate a scan. Scanning various objects and enemies will give you numerous tips and hints to weaknesses and potential ideas of what to do next. Accessing switches requires you to push forward with the remote, rotate your hand clockwise, and than pull back. Initiating the different controls throughout the game helps give Corruption a more up close and personal experience rather than just randomly pressing buttons to advance.
Combat in Corruption is much more noticeable than the previous games and more time is spent fighting enemies than running around from room to room. There are tons more enemies throughout this game and many of the battles will put you up against dozens of enemies at a single time. A new targeting system makes battling the hordes much easier to manage and ultimately lends the game a faster pace, as well. By pressing the Z button, Samus can target any enemy and then continue to stay locked on as she constantly shoots. After locking onto an enemy you can also use the analog stick to strafe around them and shoot other potential targets within your vicinity as well. By targeting a specific enemy within a group you can fully employ evasive manuevers and use your surroundings to your advantage while you're shooting.
Other than the Beam gun, Samus also has a wide assortment of other weapons to help her take down harder enemies. Rockets and bombs can be used at anytime by pressing the D Pad, and targeting specific enemies can even create heat-seeking missiles. Later on in the game you will earn the grapple lasso, which allows you to swings across gaps, grab onto items, and even un-shield enemies. By aiming with the remote and than swinging the nunchuck upwards you can grab an enemy’s shield and yank it from their hands, making them vulnerable to your attacks. There are numerous times when various enemies will ambush you at once, and since many enemies are invulnerable to certain attacks, successfully utilizing the different weapons and skills will be necessary in order to be victorious. Of course, Samus can also turn into her morph ball to navigate through narrower spaces and use her bombs to fly up to otherwise unapproachable areas.
After gunning your way through the various levels you will then come across a boss who will tower above you in almost every battle. The first boss in particular is a giant monstrosity with various tentacles and eyes. The boss battles in Corruption are extremely well developed and force you to think and use your surroundings more than just randomly firing. Boss battles almost have a vertical feel to them as you are constantly looking above while you are battling. These hulking enemies are some of the most extraordinary enemies in the game and the battles between them are equally impressive.
Samus won’t have to rely on her solidarity for the entire game as certain incidents have her teaming up with other characters. Up to three side characters will join you in certain missions and even help you eliminate enemies if the threat gets too high. Most of the time they will actually shoot at the enemies and stay alive throughout the entire mission, but the occasional sporadic gunfire and idiotic movements can make some tasks an incredible chore to manage. Exploration has always been a key feature in the series but this time it takes a back seat to the combat. There are still many different places to explore on your own, but it is not necessary to go out of your way in order to stay on track with the main storyline. Finding hidden paths and secret locations will net you hidden upgrades and powers, so it is always profitable to explore every little thing.
Always an accomplishment in previous titles, the visuals in Corruption have surpassed even the highest of expectations. The locales all have an impressive amount of realism and no two areas look alike. The hulking bosses and enemies all look fresh, and there are rarely moments when you will encounter swarms of clones. The HUD even got a nice formal makeover as everything seems much more streamlined and realistic. Such subtle details are noticeable as well, like names of soldiers written on the walls of ships and trees that sway and move in the surroundings. Corruption is the best looking game on the Wii to date, and outshines all of the previous Metroid Prime games by a large margin.
The sound was also hugely revamped and helps make the game a much more visceral experience. All of the characters in the game can be interacted with and even the minor characters that do nothing more than fill in the backgrounds have their own specific lines of dialogue. Much of the voice acting is well done throughout but there are certain instances of repetitiveness in characters voices as well as enemy sounds and weapon fire. The music has a sort of Halo-type vibe to it as well, and it helps make the atmosphere of the game a much more intense upbeat theme.
Proof that not all sequels are quick attempts to cash in; Corruption takes the already outstanding formula of the previous games and retools it into one of the most solid and rewarding experiences in years. Any fan of Metroid, or shooters in general, will enjoy the superb gameplay Corruption delivers and Retro Studios deserves praise for ending the Metroid Prime series with a mushroom-cloud-laying bang.
BTRs
